Architects Of Defeat OR What Can Brown Do For Bone?
Posted on January 6, 2009 at 1:22 pmR. Neal throws around a bit of gossip floating around the race for Tennessee Democratic Party Chair:
There is also talk that Bone would install Mark Brown as Executive Director and Keith Talley as the Communications Director. Chip Forrester notes that they are good guys but are also the architects of the 2008 Disaster as directors of the Democratic State House and Senate caucuses respectively.
It appears there is a power struggle going on in Nashville between the old school apparatchik and a more progressive grassroots movement. Is it even possible for Democrats to drag Tennessee into the 21st Century? Can Democrats elect progressive candidates statewide and join the emerging New New South, or do we have to keep running Republican-lite candidates and letting the TNGOP dictate the rules of engagement?
The next couple of years are going to be interesting. By the end of this month we will know the general direction.
UPDATE: Charles Robert Bone responds to the rumors:
I have not spoken with Mark Brown or Keith Talley about a position with the Tennessee Democratic Party. My current focus remains on meeting and talking with the members of the Executive Committee across the State to ensure that, as a Party, we develop, fund and implement an innovative plan that will allow us to be successful in the 2010 elections and thereafter.
Equally as important as the plan itself is the manner in which we go about developing the plan, and ensuring that this process is collaborative and transparent. As a part of this, I think the Party would be well served to publicly post these job openings and conduct a national search to ensure that we attract a diverse and talented applicant pool.
UPDATE II: Senate Caucus Political Director Mark Brown:
I want to confirm that [Bone] and I have not discussed any position at the TNDP. That would be premature, to say the least.
As for the Senate Democratic Caucus, I take full responsibility for our losses; after all, I was political director. We recruited good candidates. We raised more money than the caucus has ever raised. We ran strong races, but we lost. That’s my fault.
UPDATE III: TNDP Treasurer and chairman candidate Chip Forrester:
As I’ve consistently said, I’m not making any staffing decisions before I’m elected chair and I think that it would be unwise for any candidate to be doing the same.
I plan to involve the officers of the Party in these critical decisions as well as reaching out to seek input and advice from a broad range of sources to include the Governor, the Democratic Members of Congress, former Party chairs, key Tennessee Obama supporters, the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses, Democratic activists and others as we all shape the vision and staffing of the Party for the purpose of Taking Back the House in 2010.
While I too have heard that there have been discussions about involving these gentlemen, it just seems to me that we need a fresh approach, a change of how we have been doing things and a rethinking of the politics of grassroots involvement in our state because how the campaigns of 2008 were run and the results speak for themselves.
That is why, one of my first initiatives, as chair will be to convene a statewide Campaign Summit to conduct a thorough post-mortem on all the successful and failed Tennessee campaigns of 2008. It is essential that we look at what we did right and what we did wrong to ensure that as we lay out our plan for 2010 that we bring forward only the best and dispense with the failed. This summit must be a critical, no-holds-barred analysis of 2008. The future of the Democratic Party in Tennessee is too important not to undertake this effort.
I am certain that we have, in this state, men and women who bring talent, expertise and energy to the table for the task of Taking Back the House and the Party will do everything to bring them together.
SEE ALSO: Mark Brown says he would be a wonderful Executive Director.
Comments
5 Responses to “Architects Of Defeat OR What Can Brown Do For Bone?”
Great….just great.
Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie looked at each other as the Mexican’s were coming over the walls and said, sh#t, you’re in charge!
With all due respect to Mssrs. Brown and Talley, this seems like almost a comically bad idea, and one that certainly advances the meme that Bone is a tool of the party establishment. I’m inclined to believe his response debunking this as pure rumor… but a NATIONAL SEARCH for Executive Director or Communications Director? Give me a break! Bone really doesn’t believe that there are ANY talented, capable Democrats in the whole state who can effectively manage the party? Wow. What is he going to do, post a listing on idealist.org?
Keep digging, dude. The 24th is almost here.
Has Beecher Frasier spoken with Brown or Talley?
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with bringing in out of state talent to run the state party. I don’t understand the hand wringing over the point. Seeing has how it is somewhat important to know at least some of the players personally, it isn’t likely that the exec would come from out of state but the idea is by no means “comically bad.”
Seems to me with all the finger pointing that has been going on at every local Dem, bringing in an outsider with no pre-existing attachments wouldn’t be such a bad idea.